The Michael Waltrip Dilemma

09/30/2015

J. L. Steele

Cheating takes place in all sports. In the past few months, the story of Tom Brady and deflated footballs has been covered extensively. Last week of course, Michael Waltrip Racing was hit with a level four penalty by NASCAR for rules violations they committed at Chicagoland Speedway. While some will scream that cheating is cheating regardless of the infraction, rational fans realize there are different levels of infractions.

If a player jumps offsides in football, he's flagged for a penalty. Obviously, that's not as serious of an infraction as videotaping other teams as the New England Patriots have been accused of doing in the past. That's why the punishment was more severe when the Patriots were caught. Every team and every player looks to gain an edge. They're constantly looking for a competitive advantage. However, in fairness to all parties, each infraction has to be dealt with based on its severity. Even NASCAR acknowledges this, hence their six tier penalty system.

Michael Waltrip Racing has been caught cheating three times in the past eight years. Not only that, each of those infractions were deemed to be major by the governing body. None of them can be swept away with the old, "if you ain't cheatin', you ain't trying" line. At least as troubling as the actions of those involved, is the change in attitude Waltrip has displayed each time his team has been caught.

Desperate for a successful debut of his team and Toyota in 2007, Waltrip's team was caught using an illegal fuel additive at Daytona in 2007. The violation was so severe, NASCAR kicked crew chief David Hyder out of the race track and levied a then record fine of $100,000 against him. Waltrip was also docked points, thus beginning his team's inaugural season with negative points. At the time, Waltrip expressed great remorse. He took the blame and absolved Toyota of any knowledge or involvement. He went on record as saying, "I'm ready to bear all responsibility for what happened. You can't hurt me any worse than I am right now." He even went so far as to claim he considered withdrawing from the Daytona 500 due to his own personal embarrassment.

Then came the debacle his team orchestrated at Richmond's fall race in 2013. Desperate to have both team cars qualify for NASCAR's Chase for the Championship, driver Clint Bowyer was ordered to spin out which would bring out a caution in the closing stages of the race. Brian Vickers was then told to pit once the race went back to green. That combination of events helped teammate Martin Truex, Jr. finish high enough to qualify for NASCAR's playoff. Both Bowyer and Truex did initially qualify but within minutes of the race's end, questions were already swirling about what happened, why it happened and how it happened. That episode was arguably NASCAR's most embarrassing on-track scandal, as it involved a team deliberately trying to alter the outcome of a race. No sport can have its core integrity questioned in that way. Going back to baseball's infamous 1919 "Black Sox" scandal, every major sport has taken and continues to take great pains to make sure the product fans pay to see is actually the product that is on display.

The penalties and fallout from that night in Richmond continue to haunt the organization two years later. NAPA ended its sponsorship of the #56 car andTruex was kicked out of the Chase. Additionally, team manager Ty Norris was suspended indefinitely and the organization broke another NASCAR record. They were fined $300,000. NASCAR also changed the way radio channels could be used by all teams from that point on. Michael did apologize, saying, "I am responsible for all actions of MWR. I sincerely apologize for the role our team played and for the lines NASCAR has ruled were crossed by our actions at Richmond."

Notice he never admitted guilt. Unlike his Daytona apology, there was no direct acknowledgement that his team cheated. He didn't say he was sorry for cheating or even trying to "push the rules." No, he qualified it by talking about, "...the role our team played..." without ever admitting what that role was. He also failed to say he or his team crossed a line. He talked about, "...the lines NASCAR has ruled were crossed." Further, he failed to seize the moral high ground and fire Ty Norris. Since that time, he has never provided detail or answered questions directly about what happened. In interviews given since that night, he's always tried to spin the situation in a positive direction.

When asked about it the next February at Daytona, Waltrip stated, "It didn't scar me. It just made me more determined. That was just life." Unlike the first time he was labeled a cheater six years earlier, this time he tried to make it very impersonal. "This is racing. There is going to be twists and turns. You're going to be dealt setbacks." Although that's true, no other team actually created a "setback" by participating in actions like his team did.

In the meantime, NASCAR created its current penalty system. After years of having fans, media and even teams question the way they arbitrarily handed out penalties, the organization decided to develop a black and white, transparent system. If a team decides to break a rule, they already know in advance what level of punishment they can expect to face if caught. They have outlined specifically what is allowed and what is not. There is no gray area when it comes to truck arms. They are not allowed to be adjustable. The ones on the #15 car of Clint Bowyer were apparently found to be flexible when the car went through inspection at Chicago. As a result, crew chief Billy Scott was suspended for three races, placed on probation and fined $75,000. The team had 25 championship points taken away. The team has appealed the penalty and will have a hearing this Wednesday.

This time, there was no sincere apology from Michael Waltrip. There wasn't even a feeble attempt. This time, in dealing with a very black and white issue, there is silence from Michael and defiance from the team. MWR issued a statement last week denying any guilt. Waltrip himself, referred to the team statement on social media and refused to say any more. We build our reputations as people and unfortunately, Michael Waltrip has built a reputation as an habitual cheater who allows his team to go much further than just a little rule tweaking. That kind of attitude and behavior erodes a person's credibility and right now that's the biggest issue Michael Waltrip faces.

Besides being a team owner, he is of course a commentator for FOX Sports and their NASCAR coverage. He also announces the truck races, as he did this past weekend at New Hampshire. Partway through the race, Kyle Busch appeared to slow so that teammate Erik Jones could lead the race. That caused the discussion to turn to NASCAR's "100% rule." The institution of that rule was another part of the Richmond fallout from two years ago. As it was being discussed on air, Waltrip was strangely silent. The question of whether Busch was within that rule in allowing Jones to lead was a legitimate question yet for a man who typically won't stop talking, Waltrip had nothing to say on the matter. Was it because he knew that rule is now a part of the sport because of his team? Was it because his team is currently waiting to have yet another rules violation ruled on? Was it because the soiled reputation he's earned over the past eight years won't allow him to comment with a straight face about someone else breaking rules? It doesn't really matter.

Although Waltrip has done a remarkable job of convincing his television bosses that he's an asset to their race coverage, he is not. Knowledgeable race fans took to social media during Saturday's truck race to comment about his apparent inability to question that move by Busch. The move itself wasn't a major issue with most folks. How Michael handled it, or failed to handle it was. How are fans supposed to take seriously anything he says in covering the sport based on the lack of credibility he now has to so many? NASCAR, like every other major sport, can't allow to have the integrity of its product questioned. How can it continue to allow the coverage of that product to be questioned as well?

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